Potholes
by Ron the True Fan
Summary: When Cyrus made his attempt to change the universe, he failed to do his research, not knowing about Giratina until it was too late. But he wasn't going to give up trying to reshape the universe in his image. Question was...HOW would he do it? (or an analysis of the plot device in Ashes of the Past and Pokemon Reset Bloodlines)


_'The tactical result of an engagement forms the base for new strategic decisions because victory or defeat in a battle changes the situation to such a degree that no human acumen is able to see beyond the first battle. In this sense one should understand Napoleon's saying: "I have never had a plan of operations." Therefore no plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first contact with the main hostile force.' - Generalfeldmarschall_ Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke, Chief of Staff of the Prussian General Staff, 1871

* * *

Mount Coronet, Sinnoh Region - events of the 'Team Galactic Incident'

* * *

No plan ever survives contact with the enemy.

From the dawn of military existence, it has always been known that whenever your plan hits a bump in the road, it will stop being useful in any way, shape or form. Some people developed a way around this, by making an objective but making everything else up as they go along. What many fail to realize is that the saying is not only applicable to the military, but to life itself. And none were realizing this more then Cyrus, leader of Team Galactic.

We could go deep into Cyrus' past, his childhood and his motivations. However, that is not the purpose of this story. This is about his plans, for they are the real reason behind this tale. According to myth, Sinnoh is the home of creation itself, to the dragons Dialga, God of Time and Palkia, God of Space. These two Legendary Pokemon (and the Lake Trio, but they aren't important to this) were responsible for the creation of the universe.

Cyrus wished to take the power of these two Pokemon and remake reality, in essence, to become God. But, as before, this is not about his motivations. This is about how his plans… hit a pothole, so to say, for those legends told of only _two_ Pokemon.

The legends failed to take notice of the _third_ and final legendary.

We could tell the tale of how the Lake Trio delayed Cyrus' actions, of how Cynthia, Grand Champion of Sinnoh, engaged Team Galactic. But ultimately, they are not important. The important matters of this tale begin when Cyrus realized that, for lack of a better term and more sophisticated language… he failed spectacularly. He only realized this when a shadow appeared from out of nowhere, breaking the Red Chains binding Dialga and Palkia before bending over and taking him… elsewhere.

And thus, the true tale of Cyrus begins, as he enters the realm of the God of Antimatter. Of Giratina, Lord of the Distortion World, final member of the Creation Trio. The aforementioned 'pothole' on Cyrus' road to godhood. And allow me to say, readers… Giratina is one hell of a pothole.

* * *

 **Distortion World**

* * *

Cyrus awoke to chaos. Not the sound of smashing rocks or grinding metal, nothing like that. But the realm he awoke in was one so strange, it defied comprehension, of floating islands and waterfalls and multicolored skies.

"So, you have awoken." A distorted voice, which Cyrus could not identify as male nor female, said as Cyrus sat up, finding a large, snake-like Pokemon with large wings upon its' back, golden 'ribs' and armor, who appeared to be the same Pokemon that interfered. "About time. I was beginning to get bored with waiting for you to awaken, Cyrus of the Galaxy Gang." The serpent pokemon paused, as if considering something. "Or was it Team Galactic? I can't tell what it was. We have much to discuss."

Cyrus got on his feet, standing to face the Pokemon. "So, are you happy that you have destroyed my plans, legendary?" the emotionless man asked the winged serpent. "Does it fill you with glee that the world will continue on?"

"Oh, please, don't call me legendary." The massive gray Pokemon demanded as they glared down at Cyrus with their beady red eyes. "Call me by my name. Which, by the way…" the massive Pokemon bent down to look Cyrus in his own emotionless eyes. "Is Giratina."

Cyrus complied with a raised eyebrow. "My question remains, Giratina. Does the destruction of my plans fill you with joy? Happiness? I have spent the last years of my life on this plan and yet you destroyed it in minutes. Does that not bring you comfort?" he asked.

"Actually, no, it doesn't. To be honest, Cyrus, your little plans were a much welcome source of entertainment," Giratina said much to Cyrus surprise, before they continued. "I wanted to see how far you could get. So, allow me to give you my heartfelt congratulations for finally arriving in my realm."

Cyrus allowed allowed himself a brief surge of emotion. Perhaps his plans could succeed. Giratina, however, shot those plans down. "It was a shame it was all for nothing." Cyrus' head snapped up to Giratina, still lording over him. "Your plans were doomed to failure from the start, Cyrus. Even if that child had never been born, had never even seen you, it wouldn't have worked."

Cyrus looked at the realm around him. If he could learn how— "Oh, you're _still_ plotting. You are a source of entertainment to the last, aren't you?" Giratina said, sounding beyond amused by this. "Tell me, Cyrus… how come you didn't know about me? That the legends didn't say anything about the third power in the shadows, maintaining the world?" The demonic-looking legendary Pokemon did not move, but Cyrus could feel the smugness in the Pokemon's voice. "Could it be that I didn't advertise myself to your kind?" Giratina asked Cyrus.

"If I had known, I would have found a way to make a third Red Chain." Cyrus admitted. With all three, the universe would be his.

Giratina would have smiled, if they could. "Yes, you would have," The dragon of antimatter said. "But it wouldn't have made any difference. Even I am not the most powerful of us. Even if you had a third… our father would have stopped us."

Cyrus blinked in confusion. "Father?" he asked. "Come now, Cyrus," Giratina reproached, sounding disappointed. "You're not an idiot. You can put it together." And indeed, he could, as he realized the myth of creation. Of the First Egg and that which it birthed: the mythical Pokemon Arceus, Creator of the Universe and All-Father of All Pokemon, which he considered a myth.

That was a mistake, it seemed, as Giratina decided to give Cyrus some help. "Even together, we are nothing to Father Arceus, who can swat us aside with nary a thought." the legend said before pausing and tilting his head to one side slightly. "Who has, actually, quite a few times. One on one, we're like flies to Arceus. All at once, same thing. Doesn't matter when the Creator's got all of those plates of his."

'Very well, then,' Cyrus thought to himself, formulating another plan to create his soulless world. 'I'll simply bypass them all. This place maintains creation itself; perhaps I can learn how—'

The antimatter legendary then began to laugh, echoing in the reverse world. "The arrogance! The shocking, refreshing arrogance!" Giratina yelled as the legendary laughed. "You think you can get around me and my siblings, take control of the powers of this world? Perhaps you'll succeed before Father decides to deal with you himself." Cyrus had to agree on that front. Perhaps he could take control fast enough and remake the universe in his image. "Maybe you'll have better luck than the other five idiots that tried the same thing." Giratina, almost cheerfully, said.

That gave Cyrus pause. Five? There had been five others that tried? Five that failed to change the universe? …Well, maybe number six would do it. If he could learn how the others failed, he would succeed. He could make everything perfect. "I will succeed where they failed, Giratina. All I need to know is how they failed," Cyrus declared, sure of his abilities and intelligence.

To which Giratina simply laughed. "Oh, this is priceless!" the Lord of Ghosts cried. "You think you can do it! Well, sorry, Cyrus, but… you can't. It was never a question of ability or intelligence." The dragon then leaned in again. "It's a matter of species," The master of the dead proclaimed, somewhat haughtily. "You're human. Your mind simply cannot comprehend the powers which you are attempting to manipulate. I have seen five men, some more intelligent than you will ever be simply waste away into madness." Giratina got in uncomfortably close to Cyrus before whispering into his ear. "I enjoyed it when they finally died, screaming as their minds shattered like glass."

The massive ghost-type backed away from Cyrus, rearing up to their full height. "Go right ahead, Boss of Team Galactic. Make your attempt. I fully intend to get no small amount of entertainment from your failure," the legendary said as it faded away.

Cyrus then faced the surrounding area. Chaos. Well, Giratina wasn't going to stop him. He would either succeed… or die.

* * *

 **Hall of Origin - sometime later**

* * *

"Are you sure it was wise to allow him to even make the attempt, my child?" came a voice that could be neither male nor female as it addressed the lord of the reverse world. Giratina chuckled as the Lord of Ghosts looked towards the All-Father Arceus. Humans thought the two were always at odds.

That could not be any further from the truth. Giratina simply preferred to stay in their realm, doing their job. So the humans took them as a 'being of great evil' and such. Seriously, just because the dragon didn't get out much and took some great enjoyment out of idiots getting what they deserved didn't mean Giratina was evil.

"Father, he is human. Nothing can change that," Giratina said before chuckling, amending the statement. "Well, _was_ human. He's been dealt with." The legendary let out a breath the ghost didn't need to take. "And hopefully the humans will learn to stop trying this after this time. I mean, I enjoy watching the ones that make it into my realm go crazy and all, but Dialga and Palkia keep having to deal with this whole song and dance every time. I put up this air of indifference to them, but they _are_ my siblings." Giratina then paused before bringing that subject up. "How are they, might I ask? This time was particularly bad."

Arceus would have grinned if it were possible. "They are recovering," the Creator of All said. "As you said, they were having a hard time of it. I will pass on your wishes for a shift recovery." Giratina turned to leave the Hall of Origin.

"Giratina." The Lord of Ghosts came to a stop as Arceus spoke up before the First Ghost turned around to face the All-Father. "What did you do with the fool, might I ask?"

Giratina chuckled. "Father, don't you know?" the Lord of the Dead asked faux-mockingly. "Aren't you God? Surely, the fate of one idiot isn't beyond your field of view."

Arceus eye-smiled at most rational of the Creation Trio. "I am all-powerful, Giratina, not all-knowing," The All-Father said correcting the reasonable legendary. "I do not know all the secrets of the universe. What would be the fun in that?" the Creator asked the Lord of Spirits, expecting an answer.

Giratina's head tilted to one side slightly. "True, father. Cyrus has been dealt with. He won't be causing us any more grief. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to visit Necrozma. It is an… interesting legendary."

Arceus bid them farewell with a nod as Giratina left the Hall of Origin. "Yes, my child." the Creator said to the empty hall, musing. "Let us hope this is the last time a foolish human does something like this."

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Ah, yes. This plot. The plot that birthed _Ashes of the Past_ and _Pokemon Reset Bloodlines_. Do you know how many _holes_ that idea actually has?**

 **If you think the RMS _Titanic_ had holes in it when she sank, trust me, if she had holes THIS big, that liner would've hit sank in five minutes at the longest. Now, I have absolutely nothing but love for _AotP_ and _PRB_. They are Pokemon fiction _perfected_.**

 **But how they START OUT causes problems. And all of that goes to Cyrus, our least favorite boss. So, after a bit of thinking and a conversation with Viroro-kun himself… this was the result. A deconstruction of the idea that Cyrus could actually do what Saph and Cross implied he could do, which… logically, I can't see happening. Even fantasy, which Pokemon is, ultimately must bend to reality and Cyrus, without computer aid or with someone that knows what they're doing, was never going to get it done. At best, face melting from _Raiders of the Lost Ark_. At worst, undeath.**

 **Speaking of which, before anyone asks about Cyrus' ultimate fate here? It's ultimately up to you. He's been 'dealt with', as far as I am concerned. Take that as you will: he could've been eaten by Giratina, gone insane, turned into a Ghost Pokemon… whatever you can think up; I invite all sorts of creative ends. Important thing is, he's out of the picture. Forever.**

 **As for Giratina's lack of gender pronouns… well, Giratina IS genderless in the games. So I reflect that. If you want Giratina to be a boy, that's fine, same with being a girl. That was the point of not using the pronouns.**

 **Now, again, this is not a hate-fic towards Cyrus, nor saying _PRB_ and _AotP_ are bad fics, far from it. It is a simple statement that the 'Cyrus reset time' plot is flawed. Perhaps not to the point of uselessness, but to the point of seriously questioning 'would it actually work as stated?'. Perhaps Saph and Cross will actually answer these questions in detail.**

 **I'm certainly curious to the answers.**

 **Ja Ne!**

 **PS: This is a oneshot. Favorite and bookmark all you like. Just don't follow this. It will never see an update and every time I see someone following one of my completed works, it annoys me.**


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